Reclaimed By My Ex-husband

Riya arrived at the Mirage and made her way to the private room. Inside, Zachary sat on a plush sofa, his posture relaxed, but his eyes sharp as he looked up at her. The phone was pressed to his ear as he spoke in a clipped tone. Without breaking his call, he motioned to the seat beside him, signaling her to sit down.

Riya sat down obediently.

"Yes, forward the details. I'll go over them later."

Once the call ended, he reached for the wine glass in front of him and took a sip, not bothering to look at her. "Did you get the file?"

Panic surged through her. How could she admit that she had failed?

'I… I couldn't,' she wanted to say, but the words lodged in her chest. If she had only had a few more seconds, she might have snapped those photos. But fate had turned against her.

Zachary didn't need her answer. Her silence told him that she had failed to carry out the task.

With a sudden jolt of anger, he slammed the wine glass onto the table. Red liquid splashed across the surface.

Riya flinched, shrinking back, her face pale and stricken. She kept her eyes down, afraid to meet his furious stare.

"I'm sorry," she blurted. "I did find the file. But just as I was about to take the photos, Zara walked in. I had no choice but to put it back into its place. I didn't want to get caught."

Zachary didn't speak. He simply glared at her, his fury simmering.

Riya quivered beneath his icy stare. Terrified of what he might do, she scrambled to shift the blame.

"It's Zara's fault." She tried to defend herself, hoping to deflect his wrath. "She showed up uninvited and acted like she owned the place - even spoke to me so rudely. She twisted everything with her cunning words and turned Nathaniel against me. Now he has warned me to stay out of his office."

She silently wished he would let her off the hook and not push her again to steal the confidential files from Nathaniel's office. But she was completely unaware of what Zachary had in mind.

"I can't go back there," she added, acting indignant. "If you still want that file, you'll have to find someone else. Don't ask me to do it again."

But her trembling hands and pale face gave her away. She was terrified of what punishment he would give her.

Zachary's expression darkened further, and in the blink, he leaned forward and seized her jaw, yanking her close until their faces were only inches apart.

"You have no idea how important that file is to me," he hissed. "You had it. And you let it slip away. And now you are playing the victim?"

Riya winced at his grip, trying to reason with him. "If I took it, Nathaniel would have known it was missing. That's why I thought snapping a few photos was safer—"

"I don't care what you thought," Zachary snapped, cutting her off. "Your carelessness cost me a golden opportunity. You screwed it up. And now you have made sure you'll never get into his office again. Do you think I'll just let that go?"

Fear washed over her like a cold wave. She didn't know what he would do next, but she could feel it coming.

"I—I didn't mean to fail," she whispered shakily. "Please… don't hurt me. I tried. And I was almost successful. If Zara hadn't walked in—"

"Stop blaming others for your own incompetence," Zachary growled, his grip tightening painfully on her jaw, making her whimper.

Tears welled in Riya's eyes. Whatever mercy she had hoped for was slipping further and further out of reach.

She feared he might actually crush the bone. But she didn't want to be punished. No one could predict what Zachary might do.

Riya refused to back down. She had to make him forgive her and give her another chance.

"So what if I can't go to his office anymore?" she said. "I still can access his files. Nathaniel often takes work home, and I can go to his place anytime I want."

That caught his attention.

His glare softened, a flicker of interest sparking in his eyes.

'Why didn't I think of that earlier?' Zachary mused silently, his mind already calculating the next move. 'She is cherished and pampered by the Grants. She can slip into Nathaniel or Vincent's study without raising even a hint of suspicion.'

His grip on her jaw relaxed slightly.

Riya noticed the change instantly. She could tell her words were working. Hope surged in her chest. "If you want, I can get anything from his study— even copy all the files from his laptop."

The cold intensity in his eyes melted away, his thumb brushing across her lips. "You actually have a brain," he murmured with a chuckle. "I like that."

He leaned in to kiss her. But Riya wasn't done yet. She placed her fingers firmly against his lips, halting him mid-motion.

"There is something I want in return," she said. "I want you to get rid of that woman, Zara. I want her out of the Grant family. She is too much of a nuisance. I can't stand her anymore."

Riya ran her hands slowly up his chest, deliberately undoing the top buttons of his shirt. Her voice dropped into a seductive murmur. "In exchange, I'll do anything to please you."

Pushing aside the fear curling inside her, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against the hollow of his throat.

Zachary closed his eyes for a moment, responding to her touch with a deep inhale. That slight reaction was enough. Riya noticed, and a small, triumphant smile appeared on her lips. She knew exactly which strings to pull.

Her lips trailed down to his chest, while her fingers slid lower, pausing at the waistband of his trousers.

"Let me take care of you," she whispered near his lips, brushing them but not quite kissing him.

She sank slowly, positioning herself between his legs, every movement intentional.

Zachary's eyes darkened as he looked down at her, the air thick with charged silence. There was something wickedly satisfying in the way she looked up at him—delicate, yet undeniably bold.

Zachary gazed down at her, taking in the way she knelt before him, her red lips parted slightly. The sight ignited a fierce, uncontrollable hunger in him. All he could think about was claiming her mouth with raw, unrelenting need.

Riya held his gaze as she slowly tugged down his zipper. His arousal pulsed with impatience, and the moment her soft, slender fingers wrapped around him, a low sigh escaped his lips as he let his head fall back against the sofa.

He swelled in her grip.

Riya leaned in and took him into her mouth, her tongue gliding expertly along his length.

"You little slut," he groaned. "How many men have you done this for?" He seized a handful of her hair, guiding her head along his shaft, forcing her to take him deeper.

Riya struggled to breathe and gagged, but he held her head firmly in place, refusing to let her pull back. He thrust his hips upward, moving deeper into her mouth, while bracing himself against the sofa with his other hand.